relationship between researchers from Fudan University in Shanghai and the University of Southern Denmark in Odense, initiated when we met in Shanghai in 2011 to launch a research project on ´The Global Significance of Hans Christian Andersen´.

The book deals with Andersen´s significance, unmatched for a transnational author, in China, and with the first translations of his tales by which, a century ago, he was introduced to Chinese readers. It provides insights from a variety of literary, cultural, and political perspectives. Above all, the book bears witness to a common engagement with the task of achieving insight and understanding.